Album Review

Who else but a bunch of fresh-faced boys from Indiana could write a hip-hop song about playing Galaga? Quatro, from Midwestern ska revivalists Johnny Socko, shows why this band has become a regional favorite. The band incorporates just enough hip-hop and punk elements to keep the music from sinking into dime-a-dozen ska style, while the songwriting ranges from standard boy loses girl fare to much more clever themes. Highlights include "Old School Master" and "Devil's Advocate."

Customer Reviews

Cinco stars.

by
Rocker1

Great album from top to bottom. I worried that w/o Trout the band would go down hill. But not at all. Not much ska, but the songwriting is very good and clever. I love the indie feel and sound of this album. If you love the classics like Work That Guitar, and Save Yourself, then you might want to skip the trainwreck that is their Self Titled album that also features evil versions of these songs.

INDY 500

by
Gracieq123

We found Johnny Socko by accident in 1994, Boviquarium was just released. We were in Indy for the time trials, in from Saint Louis. 1 night listening to these guys and we were hooked! They Rocked it!

Biography

Genre: Rock

Years Active: '90s, '00s

Johnny Socko was founded by Dylan Wissing in Bloomington, Indiana in 1990. Influenced by genre-hoppers like Fishbone and Red Hot Chili Peppers, as well as the more traditional funk and soul of James Brown and Parliament/Funkadelic, Socko also had an affinity for the party rhythms of hip-hop, ska and reggae. But after almost ten years of being lumped into the sometimes-schlocky third-wave ska scene, Socko went through a transformation, and emerged as a solid, road-tested rock & roll band. In the...